Thought-Dwelling

Water Chestnut Island, the stronghold of the Plundering Clock.

Hairspring and the Death Knell received intelligence from Northern Ice Island.

The two remained silent for a long while.

At first, when they learned that Charybdis seemed to have gone to Northern Ice Island on his own...

Overjoyed!

It can only be said that Su Ming was unlucky; even such a behemoth stood on the side of my god Jörmungandr!

Although the Deep Sea Abyssal Devourer couldn't stop Su Ming from taking a detour, it would be enough to delay the Final Bone Mad Machines's plan until after the North Pole winter.

But now, this intelligence report says:

Su Ming defeated Charybdis and successfully opened up the North Pole shipping route.

The two Clock Hand completely lost their usual composed expression.

"Such a massive Deep Sea Abyssal Devourer!"

The Hairspring simply didn't believe it.

"How is that even possible!"

"Even if it were a super-giant pig, Su Ming couldn't move it!"

"The Ice Descendant Tribe, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

The member delivering the Minute Hand wiped the sweat from his brow.

"I have confirmed it repeatedly."

"The Ice Descendant Tribe say their spies have even reached the vicinity of Charybdis."

"It's 100% confirmed that the Deep Sea Abyssal Devourer has surfaced and entered a dormant state."

The Hairspring threads clenched their fists.

It took him a long time to barely regain his normal thinking ability.

"Oh shit."

He cursed.

"It's true that he's so big."

"How did He lose!"

In fact, there are very few such words in Yousihui.

In Eden, cursing is against the rules.

Their native language also lacks such "negative" or "insulting" words.

The sound of Death Knell was equally grim.

She raised her hand and pressed it against her forehead, her fingertips lingering on her brow for a long time.

"We absolutely cannot afford any more problems here at the Miasma Throat!"

She said with great concern.

To be honest, facing Su Ming as an opponent, Death Knell had begun to feel afraid.

It wasn't the kind of fear that comes with fighting.

Instead, it was each time they felt safe, each time they thought the situation was locked down.

But the other side always manages to lift a new curtain from some corner!

****

The Hairspring agreed with this.

The Miasma Throat of the eighth Clock Hand sequence is about to descend.

This time, the landing point was still within the North Pole.

"The Miasma Throat has a bad temper," said Hairspring.

"What if he suddenly has a whim and wants to do something?"

"Yinfei, who went to meet him, and the bell-ringing priest Moshifude, definitely won't be able to dissuade him!"

Hairspring clutched her still throbbing lower back and paced back and forth in the room a few times.

The more I think about it, the more worried I become.

"I need to write a letter to the Miasma Throat."

Explain the pros and cons clearly!

Hairspring fetched paper and pen.

After he finished writing, he handed the letter to the minute Minute Hand.

"Send this to the Ice Descendant Tribe immediately."

As the sender, the Minute Hand naturally needs to read the message.

After he finished reading, a troubled look appeared on his face.

"Grown ups."

The Minute Hand hesitated.

"Isn't this wording a bit too direct for Lord Miasma Throat?"

"I'm just worried he'll mess things up," Hairspring said decisively.

He looked at the minute Minute Hand, his gaze turning cold.

"Furthermore, the letter contained a secret message."

Send it immediately.

"Have the Ice Descendant Tribe send it there immediately, without fail!"

The Minute Hand, having received its command, turned to leave.

But suddenly, the Death Knell raised its hand and stopped him.

"Also, include my signature," she added.

"The Miasma Throat was, after all, one of my defeated opponents."

"You should at least listen to it."

****

The Radiant Holy City.

The morning light shone through the gaps in the curtains onto my face, a little too bright.

The Jielusi slowly awakens.

She instinctively turned her head to dodge, her eyelashes fluttering, before slowly realizing where she was lying.

The medical clinic in the Holy City.

Jielusi breathed a sigh of relief.

She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before beginning to recall what had happened.

A shattered battlefield.

Hairspring.

Lai'aoniya.

There was also the feeling of powerlessness I experienced before my consciousness sank, the feeling of my consciousness being frantically interfered with.

"You're awake!"

A medical worker exclaimed in surprise when she saw her open her eyes.

Soon, the doctor arrived to examine the patient.

Next to enter was Ruixiuli.

He was also wearing a hospital gown, but his spirits seemed pretty good.

Jielusi was very surprised.

Ruixiuli explained casually, "In that battle, when Hairspring fled, I fought him head-on."

I hit his kidney.

"But he stabbed me four times."

Seeing Jielusi frown, Ruixiuli showed Jielusi the healed wound on his arm.

"It's alright, I'm all better now."

2

"It's just a follow-up check-up today."

"Why were you so reckless?" Jielusi.

"You're not as fast as him; blindly closing in is bound to lead to this outcome."

Ruixiuli smiled.

"A battle, you have to fight to win it."

Then he handed Jielusi's phone to her.

"Su Ming is looking for you."

"Tell him to wake up and contact him immediately."

****

Ruixiuli was quickly pulled away by a doctor, and the ward returned to silence.

Jielusi unlocked her phone and selected Su Ming from the list.

The video option appeared on the screen.

Clearly, Su Ming upgraded the cross-regional communication system during this period.

Jielusi tentatively clicked on it.

The call actually connected.

Su Ming's image appeared on the screen.

Although the video was choppy, the call was still possible.

****

Su Ming's background was a dark blue night, with a few low color temperature searchlights.

He was wearing a thick coat, and there seemed to be some frost on his shoulders, as if he had just finished something.

"Good evening, Jielusi," Su Ming said.

"What time is it over there?" Jielusi asked.

"North Pole, any time is fine." Su Ming shrugged.

Jielusi gave an "Oh" and lowered her eyes.

"This isn't your fault," Su Ming said.

Jielusi bit her lip.

"Lai'aoniya —is she still inside me?"

"Yes."

Jielusi pulled the blanket tighter around her slightly.

The air suddenly became quiet.

Su Ming looked at her and changed the subject.

"I heard your hair used to be dark?"

Jielusi was taken aback and subconsciously touched the ends of her hair.

A strand of pink hair slipped from between her fingers.

"Dark brown," she replied.

"At the time of the injury, a small patch of pink appeared."

Later, I gradually became a full-fledged fan.

"A pinch?" Su Ming frowned.

"Yes."

Jielusi recalled what had happened, a slight glint appeared in her eyes.

"During that period, my hair was a mix of pink and dark brown."

Everyone calls her "mischievous girl".

3

Su Ming's eyes narrowed upon hearing this.

He remembered Hikaru's black Heguang white hair.

Seeing that he was lost in thought, Jielusi let out a soft breath.

"Go ahead and do what you need to do," she said calmly.

I'm fine.

5

"But I need some time to think about the current situation."

Su Ming.

"I look forward to your return, and I have no worries about working with you," he said directly.

"In addition, regarding the issue of the Thought-Dwelling Tribe, Stacy said she wants to discuss a solution with you."

Jielusi nodded gently.

"--OK."

****

"Parasite Heguang?

3

"The Thought-Dwelling Tribe?"

Jin Rongjia wasn't too surprised to receive the information from Su Ming.

When faced with supernatural beings, the possibility of things like "mind control" or "possession" is already on their list of considerations.

It has only been confirmed now.

"How should we deal with it?" Jin Rongjia asked directly.

Su Ming has already discussed this matter with several scholars.

It also incorporates some details about what happened to Jielusi Hairspring.

"First, the Thought-Dwelling Tribe has a physical form; it's a piece of crystal, and it should be near the heart of the host."

Su Ming explained, point by point.

"Second, they cannot parasitize multiple times in a short period of time."

7

Third, parasitism has a process and obvious symptoms.

As a child, Jielusi was ill for a long time.

Heguang was also hospitalized for three days.

This shows that parasitism is not a silent, instantaneous process.

"That's good," Jin Rongjia said.

There are clues.

There are ways to investigate.

This will help avoid the worst-case scenario!

"Furthermore, based on the data we've seized so far, the Thought-Dwelling Tribe can only parasitize members of the same sex."

Su Ming continued.

"Furthermore, the one currently on Earth should be called Lie'aonisi."

Finally, there's good news and bad news.

Jin Rongjia raised an eyebrow.

"You use this trick too?"

Su Ming smiled, not keeping him in suspense any longer.

"The bad news is that the Thought-Dwelling Tribe has the ability to devour souls to gain power."

Jin Rongjia felt a chill run down his spine.

Engaging in close combat with supernatural forces is the last thing they want to see.

Of course, they had no choice.

Miao Xin said, "The good news is that I didn't sense any special power in him at the base."

"No different from ordinary people."

"Perhaps it's because of some limitations on Earth."

Jin Rongjia offered another guess. "Perhaps it's simply that it didn't absorb any power."

"This will prevent you from finding out."

3

"That's certainly a possibility," Miao Xin admitted.

She offered, "Just to be on the safe side, should I come and take a look?"

Jin Rongjia shook his head.

"Need not."

His tone showed absolutely no hesitation.

"You must not move from your current position!"

****

After hanging up the call, Jin Rongjia leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Several days of intensive investigation left his eyes bloodshot.

The documents on the table were piled up in several stacks, and the lines drawn with red marker on the whiteboard were crisscrossing.

They kept searching for Heguang, but found nothing.

Based on Su Ming's intelligence, this can only mean that the Thought-Dwelling Tribe named Lie'aonisi has changed his host!

It's highly likely that Heguang and his body disposed of.

Based on this judgment, the entire direction changed.

They were previously chasing a "defector".

But in reality, they were looking for an "imposter".

Jin Rongjia opened his eyes, got up and walked to the whiteboard.

The surface was densely covered with Heguang's timeline, photos, and surveillance screenshots.

He focused his attention on a key point.

Imaging data before Heguang's hospitalization showed that his gait had changed.

When your left foot lands, shift your weight slightly towards the center.

"The average stride length has decreased by about one centimeter."

This indicates that gait characteristics are at least significantly influenced by the Thought-Dwelling Tribe!

But this route is not very feasible.

Relying on subtle gait characteristics to search through a crowd will inevitably lead to a large number of misjudgments.

For precise retrieval, extremely high standards are required for video shooting angle, clarity, and completeness.

Therefore, the efficiency is very low.